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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 18, 2021)
4A | SATURDAY EDITION | SEPTEMBER 18, 2021 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 CHANTELLE MEYER , EDITOR | 541-902-3520 | CMEYER @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM Opinion The First Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibit- ing the free exercise thereof; or abridg- ing the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peace- ably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. “I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” — Thomas Jefferson (1800) USPS# 497-660 LETTERS (Editor’s Note: Viewpoint sub- missions on these and other topics are always welcome as part of our goal to encourage community dis- cussion and exchange of perspec- tives.) It’s Time to be an American After reading the Opinion page on Sept. 4, I was truly saddened. The fact that no one seemed to have taken the time to honor the 13 service members who paid the ultimate price to defend our nation and extend the reach of freedom beyond our shores is disheartening. Can we all just take a deep breath and stop for a few minutes to just be an American, instead of constantly being divided against each for one reason or another? I would like to take the time to honor the fallen, thank them for their service to our county and send my deepest sympathies and prayers to their families. The Sept. 2 attack outside the Hamid Karzai International Air- port Kabul, Afghanistan, killed 13 U.S. service members supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. Eleven Marines, one Navy corps- man and one soldier were killed as the result of an enemy attack while supporting non-combatant evacuation operations. For the Marine Corps, the de- ceased are: • Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pich- ardo, 25, of Lawrence, Massa- chusetts, assigned to 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Naval Support Activity Bahrain. • Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23, of Sacramento, Calif., assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 24, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. She was a ground electronics transmission systems maintain- er assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 24, a subordinate unit of Combat Logistics Regiment 27, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force. The other Marines were as- signed to 2nd Battalion, 1st Ma- rine Regiment, 1st Marine Di- vision, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.. The servicemen were mem- bers of 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, currently forward-de- ployed with the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force– Crisis Response–Central Com- mand, which deployed in Febru- ary and scheduled to return later this fall. They were tasked to as- sist with the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy, U.S. citizens, spe- cial immigrant visa applicants, and those Afghans who worked alongside our troops, served alongside of them, and provided invaluable assistance to them. • Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, 31, of Salt Lake City, Utah. His mil- itary occupational specialty was 0369, infantry unit leader. • Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of In- dio, Calif., a rifleman. • Cpl. Daegan W. Page, 23, of Omaha, Neb., a rifleman. • Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Ind., a rifle- man. • Lance Cpl. David L. Espino- za, 20, of Rio Bravo, Texas, a ri- fleman. • Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, 20, of St. Charles, Mo., a rifle- man. • Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCol- lum, 20, of Jackson, Wyo., a ri- fleman. • Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, Ca- lif., a rifleman. • Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nik- oui, 20, of Norco, Calif. For the Navy, the deceased was: • Navy Corpsman Maxton W. Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio, assigned to 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, Calif. For the Army, the deceased was: • Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tenn. Knauss was assigned to 9th PSYOP Battalion, 8th PSYOP Group, Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. Thank you. — Lois Worley Dunes City Constitution Day Sept. 17 is Constitution Day, a day which will live in glory. Both James Madison in #37 of the Federalist Papers and Alexander Hamilton in a later Federalist de- scribed “the finger of God” and an “Almighty Hand” in the archi- tecture of such a document, with so many diverse interests and opinions sculpting its every time honored principle. There has never and will never be such an inspired treatise gov- erning a nation such as America. In June 1787 at the Constitu- tional Convention, Benjamin Franklin said, “the longer I live, the more convincing proof I see of this truth — that God governs in the affairs of men.” As an octogenarian, he was so amazed in September 1787 of their success that, as Madison wrote in his magisterial notes of the Convention, “the old man wept.” Therefore must we not weep today as in 2021 our shared Con- stitution has no resemblance to the “limited” government pre- scribed by the Framers. Section 1 clause 8 enumerates Congress limited role on what they can spend. They have long ago violated that enumeration. The general welfare clause in said document only pertains to what is enumerated in the pre- vious section, and therefore has been grossly violated based on faulty Court interpretation. Oth- er things like abortion are not a right, but are a wrong later made up as Constitutional thanks to crackpot judges. Yes, Sept. 17 should be cele- brated as a great day in which an inspirational document has been bequeathed to a great nation. May our youth learn its lessons and save America for posterity. They can start by putting back Robert E Lee’s monument, for truth be told he was for preserv- ing a very important principle of our Constitution, state’s rights. But in today’s anarchistic climate, American history is being lost and God forbid our Constitution. May He and we save what’s left of our former Republic. — Joel Marks Florence A Counter Perspective The recent viewpoints con- cerning the Western Lane Am- bulance District appear to be strawman arguments against Mr. Farnsworth and Mr. Marks, who never disparaged the quality and range of service provided by WLAD. Rather, these brave gentlemen fulfilled their responsibility to notify the public of a salary strat- agem that is unsustainable given the current funding of $0.77 per $1,000 tax assessed value. Are we on the hook for a massive and growing $3.4 million dollar un- funded liability? I challenge these guest view- point writers, and Chief Michael Schick, to directly address this unfunded liability with the hon- esty and transparency our com- munity deserves. — Bill Shepard Mapleton Copyright 2021 © Siuslaw News Siuslaw News Published every Wednesday and Saturday at 148 Maple St. in Florence, Lane County, Oregon. A member of the National Newspaper Association and Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. Periodicals postage paid at Florence, Ore. Postmaster, send address changes to: Siuslaw News, P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR 97439. 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Website and E-Edition: TheSiuslawNews.com Submit press releases to PressReleases@TheSiuslawNews.com. Siuslaw News Office: 148 Maple St./PO Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 Office Hours: Monday to Thursday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday: 8 a.m. to noon Letters to the Editor Policy The Siuslaw News welcomes Letters to the Editor and Guest Viewpoints as part of a community discussion of issues on the local, state and national level. Letters are subject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not guaranteed and depends on space available and the volume of letters received. Email letters to cmeyer@thesiuslawnews.com To be considered for publication: Letters must address pertinent or timely issues of interest to our readers at-large. In addition: • Letters reflect the opinion of the writer. The Siuslaw News cannot verify the accuracy of all statements made in letters. 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All letters need to include full name, address and phone number; only name and city will be printed. Handwritten or typed letters must be signed. The newspaper, at the sole discretion of the publish- er and editor, reserves the right to reject any letter that doesn’t follow the above criteria. WHERE TO WRITE President Joseph Biden The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 TTY/TDD: 202-456-6213 www.whitehouse.gov 900 Court St. NE - S-417 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1705 Email: Sen.DickAnderson@ oregonlegislature.gov Oregon Gov. Kate Brown State Rep. Boomer Wright (Dist. 9) State Sen. Dick Anderson (Dist. 5) 160 State Capitol 900 Court St. 900 Court St. NE Salem, Ore. 97301-4047 Salem, OR 97301 Message Line: 503-986-1409 503-378-4582 Email: Rep.BoomerWright@ www.oregon.gov/gov oregonlegislature.gov U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden 221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-5244 | 541-431-0229 www.wyden.senate.gov U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley Lane County Dist. 1 Commissioner Jay Bozievich 125 E. Eighth St. Eugene, OR 97401 541-682-4203 Email: Jay.Bozievich@ co.lane.or.us 313 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753 | 541-465-6750 Florence City Council www.merkley.senate.gov & Mayor Joe Henry Florence City Hall, 250 U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio Highway 101, Florence, 97439 (4th Dist.) 541-997-3437 2134 Rayburn HOB ci.florence.or.us Washington, DC 20515 Email comments to Florence 202-225-6416 City Recorder Kelli Weese at 541-269-2609 | 541-465-6732 kelli.weese@ci.florence.or.us www.defazio.house.gov